The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Traditionally, electrical connectors can be used to couple, join or electrically connect various electrical components together to enable data, current, etc. to flow between the electrical components. For example, an electrical component can include one or more electrical wires, which can be joined together at a terminal. The terminal can be configured to mate with a corresponding terminal, in a male-female or other fashion. The electrical connector can facilitate the engagement of the male terminal with the female terminal, and the electrical connector can be configured to resist the disengagement of the female terminal from the male terminal.
Generally, electrical connectors can be used in motor vehicles due to their compact size. A typical connector can include a male housing that can surround a male terminal, and a female housing that can surround a female terminal. In order to mate the male housing with the female housing, an operator (assembler, machine, etc.) may push the female housing into the male housing to enter a mated configuration. In order to securely lock the female and male housings in the mated configuration, a connector position assurance insert can be mated with the female and male housings in the mated configuration. During the assembly process and/or during disassembly and re-assembly of the connector, a typical connector position assurance insert can become deformed or otherwise become unsuitable for securely locking the housings in the mated configuration.
It would be desirable to provide for a connector assembly with an improved connector position assurance insert in order to reduce the issues identified above.